It started with Jericho

There's not many things I can write about and claim to have a truly informed view and take pleasure from doing it at the same time.

Luckily, my love affair with Electronic music has been a dominant force in my life ever since I sat in the back of my school friend's Volvo on the way to Bath, and he demanded his mum put on Experience by The Prodigy. When Jericho's incessant beats, samples and hooks kicked in, I was hooked.

Thus began a lifelong obsession at 15 years old to explore how people can create, connect and disperse such a wide range of textures, patterns, stories and moods without - as an old school chum so eloquently put it - "guitar, bass, drums, vocals....THAT is a fucking band".

I beg to differ.

The thing that drew me towards Techno, Trance, House, Ambient Dub, Trip-Hop, Drum & Bass, EDM, Glitch and god knows what other sub-genres I have failed to mention was the ability to show such diversity and not be constrained by the 4 aforementioned instruments.

Artists were often faceless, song titles throwaway, albums a little patchy or here today, gone tomorrow but what engaging with Electronic music has given me is a wider appreciation of the art of the possible.

Try explaining Autechre, FSOL, The Orb, Underworld, or Moderat to someone in simple terms. You can't.

Friends of mine have turned me on to various artists over the years and I haven't the time or the recall on here to thank them all (they know who they are) and the one thing they have in common was the search for difference, diversity and ultimately a more uplifting and rewarding listen.

Over the course of my future blog posts I hope to retrospectively view some of my favourite albums and artists, comment on them and perhaps allow others to engage and enjoy the way I have. I am not trying to re-invent the wheel but I would hope that if you go away after reading this with one new thing to listen to, I have succeeded in what I set out to do.

Some of the artists are obscure, others are obvious. I make no apologies for this as they have arrived in my life at different times but all have some significance and merit. Some of them have aged, whilst others could have been released yesterday as they transcend the era in which they were created.

Enjoy, and much peace.

Badger xx